Sean Franklin

How Acquired: Selected by the Galaxy in the first round (4th overall) of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.

One of the Galaxy’s longest tenured players as he enters his sixth season with the club, Franklin remains one of the most athletic right backs in MLS and a key ingredient in the club’s defensive success of late. He displayed his versatility last year as well, seeing time on the right side of midfield and not missing a beat, using his pace to get in behind the defense to create quality scoring chances.

MLS Highlights

2011: An important part of the Galaxy’s MLS-best defense, Franklin also chipped in on the offensive end of the field, scoring the first four regular season goals of his MLS career. All four of his goals and three assists came in a seven game span from 7/20-9/9. He scored his first goal in MLS on 7/20 vs. Columbus, scoring the game’s only goal in a 1-0 LA win. He added a second goal 10 days later in LA’s 4-0 win at Vancouver. His final two goals came on 9/5 at Sporting Kansas City, which was the first multi-goal game of his career. Franklin, who split the season between right back and the right side of midfield, tallied assists in the win at Vancouver on 7/30, the home win over San Jose on 8/20 and the home win over Colorado on 9/9. LA were 4-0-1 when Franklin had a goal or an assist. He missed five of the final six regular season games of the year with a right knee injury, but he did return for the postseason and the regular season finale. He made two appearances in the Champions League and one in the U.S. Open Cup, leading LA to a perfect 3-0-0 mark in those games, setting up a goal for Chad Barrett in the win over Alajuelense on 8/25. 2010: The Galaxy’s first choice right back for much of the season, Franklin appeared in 25 games for the club in 2010, as well as all three of LA’s postseason games, both Champions League games and one U.S. Open Cup game. He scored the first goal of his Galaxy career in the 2-1 win at Puerto Rico on 8/4 in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round series. He scored a late game-winner in that game, but the Galaxy were eliminated on aggregate. Franklin also set a career-high with six assists on the season as he attacked throughout the year from his right back position. The Galaxy were a perfect 5-0-0 when Franklin had an assist, including a 4-1 win over Houston on 6/5 in which he had two. Franklin also added assists in home wins over Chivas USA on 4/1, Columbus on 9/11 and D. C. United on 9/18. His only assist away from The Home Depot Center came on Edson Buddle’s second goal just before halftime in the 2-0 win at Houston on 4/10. Having also spent time in the midfield, Franklin missed five games with an ankle injury early in the season, but started each of the last 20 games of the year, going the full 90 minutes in 19 of those games. 2009: Missed more than four months of action after undergoing surgery to repair a torn right hamstring, but still recovered to play a pivotal role in the Galaxy’s run to MLS Cup. Franklin made his 2009 debut in the season opening 2-2 draw vs. D.C. United on 3/22, playing the full 90 minutes at right back. He tallied his only assist of the season two weeks later on 4/4 in the 3-2 loss vs. Colorado, setting up Alan Gordon’s goal early in the second half. He was forced to exit the 1-1 draw vs. Columbus on 5/17 with what was diagnosed as a torn right hamstring, forcing him to undergo surgery later in the month and putting him on the Disabled List. Franklin returned to training in early September and was activated from the Disabled List on 9/15, making his return to the lineup four days later in a 2-0 win vs. Toronto FC. He played 90 minutes in that game and each of the final five games of the season. He was ever-present throughout the postseason for LA, where he was one of three players on the team to play all 390 minutes during the run to MLS Cup. 2008: One of the stars of the Galaxy’s 2008 campaign, he played in 27 of the club’s 30 games en route to being named the Gatorade MLS Rookie of the Year and the Galaxy’s Defender of the Year. Franklin was an unused substitute in the Galaxy’s season opening defeat but would go on to become a permanent fixture in the heart of the club’s defense. He made his MLS debut on 4/3 vs. San Jose, playing the full 90 minutes in central defense. He spent most of the season as a center back, despite being a natural right back, missing only two games in July with a knee injury. He tallied the first assist of his MLS career on 10/12, setting up Edson Buddle for a goal in the 3-2 win vs. Colorado.

College Highlights

A four-year star at Cal-State Northridge, Franklin started all 67 games in which he appeared during his college career, tallying two goals and 10 assists. He missed most of his senior season due to an off-season injury but returned to the backline for the last eight matches of the season. He scored his only goal of the year in the 3-2 loss to UC-Santa Barbara on 11/13 and was named to the 2007 All-Big West Conference First Team. He scored the first goal of his college career against UC Irvine as a junior on 10/11/2006, while placing fourth on team with four assists and third with 21 shots that season to be named All-Big West First Team and All-Far West Region Second Team. He had a career-best six assists as a sophomore in 2005, including the first of his collegiate career against Dartmouth on 9/5 to lead the Matadors and earn First Team All-Big West Conference and Third Team All-Far West Region honors. After redshirting during the 2003 season, Franklin was one of only two Matadors to start all 19 matches in 2004 to earn All-Big West Conference Second Team honors.

National Team

Franklin made his international debut in the 1-1 draw with Chile on 1/22/11, playing the full 90 minutes at right back in that game. He was called into the National Team’s January camp ahead of that game. That was his second invitation to a January camp in the last three years, having also been a part of it in January 2009, only to be forced to leave the camp to undergo surgery to repair a bilateral sports hernia. He received his first call-up to the U.S. National Team in November 2008 ahead of the World Cup Qualifier against Guatemala, but he was not included in the squad for that game. He has also represented the U.S. with the Under- 20 and Under-23 National Teams.